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Dead Man's Switch/Transcript
Sherlock Holmes: Close your mouth, Watson. You'll catch a fly. Joan Watson: I didn't you had one of those machines. Holmes: Only needle these arms see anymore. I keep it for the occasional touch-up. Watson: Well, wouldn't it be easier if someone else did it, like an actual tattoo artist? Holmes: I am an actual tattoo artist. I did a lot of these myself. Watson: How'd you? Holmes: Ambidextrous. Watson: Of course you are. Holmes: Can I interest you in some ink of your own? Syringe with a line through it, perhaps, in honor of your former career as a sober companion? Watson: I think I'm good, thanks. I wanted to plan something for your anniversary. You're gonna be one-year sober in a few days. They're gonna give you your one-year chip at your next meeting. It's a big deal, Sherlock. You should be proud. Holmes: You've been talking to Alfredo. He's been hounding me about my soberversary for weeks now. Watson: Of course he has. He's your sponsor. Holmes: Which is why I have not had the heart to tell him I've absolutely no intention of accepting that chip. Watson: And why wouldn't you accept it? Holmes: It is absurd to measure sobriety in units of time. It is a state of being. One is either in it or out of it. In my case, I am in it permanently. Amassing a collection of cheap plastic discs seems infantile. Unless, of course, I could trade them in for a prize. A brood of sea monkeys, perhaps. Watson: Sherlock... Holmes: You're a ex-sober companion. It is no longer your calling to nag me, police me or reproach me. If I require your opinion with regards to my sobriety, I will ask for it. Watson: You are right. Holmes: Ha. Alfredo, your ears must have been burning. Alfredo: Hope I'm not calling too early. I'm with a friend. I think he could use your help. Holmes: Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson. We're here to see Ken Whitman. Eva Whitman: Uh, my Dad. He said someone was coming by. Come in. Holmes: You're quite good. Eva Whitman: Eva. Thanks. Uh, Dad's in the den, just down the hall. Alfredo: I told you when I met you that I had a great sponsor. This is him. The only one in the group willing to take a chance on a half-reformed ex-car thief. Holmes: Alfredo said you were in trouble. Ken Whitman: Two years ago, Eva used a fake I.D. to get into a club in the city. A man named Brent Garvey slipped something into her drink. He took her to his apartment and...the next morning she told me and her Mom everything. We took her to the police and they found Garvey. She picked him out of a lineup. Watson: Brave girl. Ken Whitman: After Garvey was charged, two other victims came forward. He ended up cutting a deal. Pled guilty for a reduced sentence. Technically, it was over. Holmes: But not for you and your family. Ken Whitman: For Eva, it was hard. She cut off contact with her friends. Stopped playing. Even tried to hurt herself. We found her a therapist. Things got better. She said she might even be ready for college next year. And then a few months ago, I got this in the mail. It's a, a video of Eva with Brent Garvey. The night he... Watson: "Mr. Whitman, you will transfer $10,000 to the following account or this video will be posted online and released to the media. Your daughter will be a star. Do not go to the police, do not attempt to identify me. If I'm arrested or physically harmed in any way, I have a fail-safe in place, an associate who will release the video for me." Ken Whitman: Eva had come such a long way. I didn't want to see her get hurt again. Watson: So you paid the $10,000. Ken Whitman: I didn't even tell my wife. I just did it. But then a few weeks later... Holmes: They asked for more money. Ken Whitman: I paid again. The third demand came a few days ago. I finally lost it. Came close to falling off the wagon. My sponsor was out of town, so I, I reached out to Alfredo. I, I just needed to talk to someone. But then he told me about you. H-He said you might be able to help? Holmes: I have a particular disdain for blackmailers. They are in some respects more despicable to me than even murderers. Ms. Watson and I will find the person who's been targeting you. We will also find their associate. Then we will destroy every trace of this vile recording. Watson: You think he's the blackmailer. Holmes: My tech expert in London traced the account number on the note to that man and this address. Charles Augustus Milverton. Watson: He certainly looks the part. I'm just surprised how easy it was to find him. Holmes: Well, he's obviously confident in the protection that his fail-safe affords him. I'll assess the threat he poses, and attempt to divine the identity of his accomplice. Once both individuals are known to us, we will destroy their blackmail troves simultaneously. Holmes: Another reason to dislike Milverton he keeps cats. Watson: Well, he should get himself a real pet, like a beehive. You see anything? Holmes: Laptop. He could have used it to burn the DVD that he sent. Watson: What's happening? Holmes: Ken Whitman said the man who assaulted his daughter took two other teenaged victims, as well Tracy Bender and Karen Pistone. There are videos of them here, as well. Watson: You think he's blackmailing their parents? Holmes: Them. Others. Watson: "Others"? Holmes: It would seem Mr. Milverton is a professional blackmailer. I'd estimate that his victims number in the dozens. Watson: He's back. He must have just gone to get some groceries. He's heading for the door. Holmes: You could have specified back door, Watson. Watson: What're you talking about? He's coming through the front. Charles Augustus Milverton: Please... Captain Gregson: Holmes. What're you doing here? Holmes: I'd like you to take a look at something. Then I'd like you to join me in the conference room. Gregson: You want to tell me why you asked me to look at what appears to be the brutal rape of a teenage girl? Holmes: I thought it was important you understand what was at stake. The man in that video is Brent Garvey. He was arrested in New Jersey several years ago and convicted of sexually assaulting three young women, Eva Whitman, Tracy Bender, Karen Pistone. Eva Whitman's father received that DVD in the mail, along with a note which demanded that he pay $10,000 or see it released on the Internet. Now, I identified the blackmailer earlier this evening. I went to his home and I realized that he had sent similar threats to the parents of Ms. Bender and Ms. Pistone. Gregson: So you're here to turn over the evidence. Holmes: Well...it's possible that I am here to report a murder. Or perhaps I'm just here to seek the counsel of an investigator that I respect and admire. Hypothetically, the blackmailer was killed in his home tonight. Hypothetically I saw it happen. Gregson: Holmes if you know anything about a murder, you gotta report it. Holmes: There would be consequences. The hypothetical blackmailer had a hypothetical accomplice. That accomplice, upon learning of his partner's death, would release that video and others into the world. That is, of course, if the accomplice learns of his partner's death. Gregson: So you want to keep it a secret. Holmes: It would give a motivated investigator enough time to identify the accomplice, prevent him from enacting any offending fail-safes. Gregson: Obviously you'd want to find the accomplice more than the killer but what if the killer is the accomplice? Holmes: Then all roads lead to Mecca. Blackmailer is foiled and a killer is caught. All in one fell swoop. You have daughters, do you not, Captain? Watson: So? Holmes: Captain Gregson sees the wisdom in keeping Milverton's death a secret for now. Watson: Well, I've been listening to the scanner since I got back and there are no reports of gunfire or break-ins in Milverton's neighborhood. Holmes: Did you reach Alfredo? Watson: Yeah, he said he would stay there as long as we needed him to. He'd let us know if anyone came by. Holmes: What about the materials I took from the dead man's desk? Watson: Well, they're bills mostly. I have some receipts. Um, I did find this. I think it's some sort of ledger. Holmes: Hmm. Records of payoffs from Milverton's victims probably. Watson: How are you doing? You saw someone get murdered tonight. You said you never got a clean look at the shooter. Holmes: Large man, approximately six foot two, one hundred kilograms. His features were obscured by a mask, his scent by the cat urine and kitty litter in Milverton's home. Even if I had reported the crime, I would not have had much to offer. It's hard not to imagine that the killer was one of the people Milverton was blackmailing, but the Captain raised the possibility that it was his accomplice. Either way, our goal remains the same, find the fail-safe before he can release any salacious material. Watson: Well, if the killer was one of Milverton's victims, why wouldn't he be worried about the fail-safe kicking in? Holmes: Well, it's possible that he solved whatever problem Milverton was taking advantage of. The fail-safe would mean nothing to him. Unfortunately, it still means a great deal to Milverton's other victims. The parents of the three young women raped by Brent Garvey, for example. I've arranged to pay him a visit in the morning. Watson: Garvey? Holmes: What if Garvey was the accomplice Milverton entrusted his fail-safe protocols with? Watson: He's in prison how could he? Holmes: All he would need to release those videos is access to a smartphone or a computer. Neither, I'm sorry to say, is impossible to come by in lockup. If he is not the accomplice, perhaps he can tell us who is. Holmes: Mr. Garvey. I heard the victimizers of children had a rough time in prison. It's really nice to see that it's not just a rumor. Brent Garvey: Who are you? Holmes: I'm Holmes, this is Watson. We consult for the New York Police Department. Garvey: If this is about the guys who jumped me, I already gave their names to the guards. Watson: We're here to talk to you about Charles Milverton. Holmes: Before you say you've never heard of him, be advised we come fresh from a conversation with your warden. We know that he paid you a visit here several months ago. Garvey: Yeah, he's friends with my Dad. He came to see how I was doing. Watson: Is that why you gave him your collection of rape tapes? Garvey: I don't know what you're talking about. Holmes: I've seen the tapes, Garvey. I have one in my possession. I'm very seriously considering telling your friends here about them before I leave today. Maybe they won't wait to find you in the yard next time. Maybe they'll pay you a visit in your sickbed. Watson: We know you gave Milverton the tapes. We just want to know if you have access to any of his other blackmail materials. Garvey: Other materials? Holmes: Milverton had an accomplice, someone who would put forth his materials in the event of his untimely death or incarceration. Garvey: The fail-safe, yeah. Yeah, I know. He told me all about him when he came to see me. He said if I went to the police and I told them he was blackmailing me, his partner would release the tapes. Watson: Blackmailing you? Garvey: I didn't give him the tapes. I had them in a storage unit. When I got arrested, I couldn't keep up with the payments. The contents went into auction. Milverton put in the highest bid. Said he bought old units all the time. Got a lot of dirt that way. Holmes: Let me guess, you have a parole hearing coming up? Garvey: I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I'm not in on it with these guys. I'm just another victim. Watson: So, what's the verdict on Garvey? Holmes: Well, as far as rapists go, it would appear he's an honest one. After Milverton's initial visit to him in prison, he sent he sent a series of e-mails to his parents, begging for loans. The dates of those e-mails correspond to payments made in Milverton's ledger. So Milverton was blackmailing Garvey and Garvey was paying. Watson: But we're still gonna tell the police about the videos before his parole hearing, right? Holmes: We will discuss the matter with the three girls' parents at the appropriate time. The decision should and will be theirs. In the meantime, we will stay the course and attempt to identify Milverton's accessory. Watson: Before he find out that Milverton is dead. Got it. Holmes: I found something in his ledger. He makes regular outgoing payments to someone with the code name "HENRY8". Watson: You think that's the accomplice? Holmes: The payments are consistently ten percent of whatever Milverton has coming in. Seems like a reasonable rate for a blackmailer's assistant. Oh. It's Alfredo. Someone's at Milverton's door. Alfredo: He's gone. Right after I texted you, he hopped into a cab. Tried to tail him but I lost him in traffic. Holmes: Description? Alfredo: Tall, six feet, maybe, fat, gray hair, mustache. Suit and cowboy boots it's weird, something about him. Holmes: Something like what? Alfredo: He seemed familiar, like I knew him or something. Watson: Any idea from where? Alfredo: Maybe I saw him at a meeting or maybe maybe I stole his car back in the day. Watson: You said he was wearing cowboy boots. Alfredo: Yeah. Holmes: What matters is that your eyes beheld him. Which means his image was transmitted to your posterior parietal cortex. So, once we regress you, you'll remember every detail, including where you know him from. Alfredo: Re-what me? Holmes: Regress you. Normally, we would use a sensory deprivation chamber. But in the absence of that. Alfredo: You want me to get in there? Holmes: Yeah. Wtson: You grew up in New York? Alfredo: Well, yeah. Watson: You watch late-night TV? Alfredo: Ah, of course. Watson: Is this the guy you saw? Duke Landers: Involved in an automobile accident? Well, there's a new sheriff in town. Me, Duke Landers, Esquire. Alfredo: That's him. "Come on down and see Sheriff Duke." Landers: If you're looking for justice and money, come on down and see Sheriff Duke. Duke Landers: Charles Milverton. Sorry, name doesn't ring a bell. Watson: That's funny, Sheriff, because you were seen knocking on his door in Staten Island this morning. Landers: Can you prove that? Holmes: No. Nor can we prove that Milverton was your client. Or that he left certain materials with you, and told you to disperse them should certain fates befall him. Landers: Say this Milverton guy is a client. The law would proscribe me from discussing him with you in any way. So, now, if you'll excuse me. Holmes: "Duke Landers, Esquire." I take it the title refers to your law license as opposed to your birthright as the eldest son of a knight. Landers: What are you doing?! Holmes: Yeah. Thought so this paper is 24-pound stock as opposed to the 80-pound favored by most institutions. Watson, I added several tomes on handwriting analysis to your reading list the other week. If you've properly absorbed them, you'll find the signatures of both the dean and the board president most interesting. Watson: Ah, Florence Costello and Martin Faber. They have the same D'Nealian capital F's. Holmes: That's because they were written by one person attempting to mimic two different styles. This certificate from the Unified Court System looks a bit dodgy as well. Perhaps I should give them a call, see if you're actually licensed. Landers: I know him, okay? I know Charles Milverton. But he's not my client. If anything, you could say that I was a client of his. Holmes: Explain. Landers: A few years ago, I got him off a DWI charge. He said if any sensitive information came across my desk, that he could use it to make some money for both of us. Just so we're clear that's all I did. Watson: That's all. Landers: Hey, I'm not the one that was supposed to disperse materials if something happened to Charles that was someone else. Holmes: You're a liar who lies. Landers: Charles never told me his name, but I know that he's out there. Charles used to call him his fail-safe. Holmes: We need everything you have on Milverton. And I do mean everything. Watson: Lots of evidence that Duke Landers is even scummier than we thought, but nothing helpful on Milverton's accomplice. How are you doing with the um...are those sobriety chips? Holmes: I ordered a set online yesterday, had them shipped overnight. Wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Colors are a bit garish, no? More appropriate to a successful first year as a Vegas showgirl. Watson: Have you been playing quarters with these? Holmes: I didn't drink anything, Watson, I just wanted to see them bounce. Watson: I don't believe you. Holmes: Smell my breath. Watson: I'm not talking about the drinking. I'm talking about what you said yesterday about me not weighing in on your sobriety. Holmes: What? Watson: Listen, if you want to talk about your feelings about your one-year chip, I'm here. Holmes: You were asking if I'd found anything. The answer is maybe. Two years ago, Charles Milverton referred a client to the Sheriff. His name was Abraham Zelner, a morbidly obese man who wanted to sue an airline for removing him from a flight. Zelner was the only client Milverton referred. Earlier we were theorizing that "HENRY8" was Milverton's accomplice. Henry the Eighth, as I'm sure you're aware, was the fattest monarch in British history. Watson: So you think Zelner was his accomplice and that Milverton gave him that code name because he was heavyset? Holmes: Hmm, Orson Welles was heavyset. Abraham Zelner could pull small moons out of orbit. Holmes (phone): Captain, what is the first thing that comes to mind when I say "Henry the Eighth"? Gregson (phone): Herman's Hermits? Listen. Call came in a little while ago from a night watchman at a construction site. He saw some uh, suspicious activity. The responding officers found a perp trying to dump a corpse into some wet cement in the building's foundation. Victim was shot three times in the chest. The perp claims he did it 'cause he was being blackmailed. Some hypothetical bells obviously went off. Holmes (phone): Was the victim's name, perchance, Milverton? Gregson (phone): First name Charles. Holmes (phone): The culprit didn't, by any chance, confess to being his accomplice, did he? Gregson (phone): No, his name is Anthony Pistone. His daughter is Karen Pistone, Brent Garvey's second victim. Holmes (phone): Yes, he was being blackmailed, too. Gregson (phone): Yeah, and his attorney's already spinning his story to the media. So I'm afraid the news that Charles Milverton is dead is officially out. Anthony Pistone: I got the first blackmail note nine months ago. It came with a DVD. Hearing about it when it first happened, that was nothing compared to seeing it. I swear, if I could have got my hands on Garvey... Attorney: Anthony, let's try to stay on topic. Pistone: I did what I had to do. I paid. It wasn't easy. My brother and I have a contracting business. Work was slow. But no way was I gonna let that tape get out. I thought that would be the end of it. I was wrong. A few weeks later I get an e-mail. Same threat, same demand. Gregson: How did you find Charles Milverton? Pistone: He e-mailed me again last week. Asked for more money. I wrote him back and said I had it, but it was in cash. Said I'd borrowed it from a friend who runs numbers. Couldn't deposit it in a bank without raising a red flag. I left an envelope under a park bench. When he came to pick it up, I followed him home. A few nights later I broke in through his back door, shot him. Grabbed his body and his laptop and took off. Gregson: Where's the laptop now? Pistone: Smashed. I stomped on it and tossed it in some dumpster. Gregson: I understand there was some postmortem damage done to the victim's face. Pistone: When your guys came at me tonight, when I, uh, I realized I couldn't get away I looked down at Milverton, and it was like he was looking back at me. Like he was laughing. I snapped. Lifted my boot up and just...he's got enough face left for an open casket. It's more than he deserves. Gregson: It's the guy you saw the other night, right? Holmes: The man I saw was wearing a mask, but the height and weight are correct. Gregson: And usually I feel so good when we've got a killer dead to rights. Holmes: The man is an idiot. He's put all of Milverton's victims including his own daughter at risk. For all we know, Internet is already flooded with their secrets. Gregson: I'm not saying I agree with what he did. I'm saying I sympathize. The guy plays his cards right, the D.A. won't ask for more than manslaughter in the first, he'll be out in three and a half years. Holmes: Yeah. Detective Bell: Holmes. I went to that address you gave me. The one for the guy you thought was working with the dead blackmailer, Abraham Zelner. Holmes: Tell me you have him in custody. Bell: The address wasn't a residence, it was a butcher shop in Chinatown. It gets worse. Can't find any record of the guy in the NCIC or the DMV database. Holmes: None. Bell: Sorry. I know you thought it was a lead, but as far as I can tell, the name's a fake. Holmes (phone): The Brownstone is on fire, my bees have escaped and there is a giant comet headed for Manhattan. Watson (phone): Excuse me? Holmes (phone): The way the evening is going I thought you could only be calling with more good news. Watson (phone): I don't know what kind of news this is, but Alfredo was here and he thought we should know that his sponsor just got a new blackmail demand from Charles Milverton. Watson: What do you think it means? Holmes: Henry Eight. Watson: You think his accomplice sent it? Holmes: As Milverton's fail-safe, he would be privy to all aspects of the operation. He possesses the same prurient material that Milverton did. But instead of exposing it, as he was supposed to... watson: He's using it to take over the business. Holmes: Milverton's murder has been all over the news for hours now. Henry Eight knows and doesn't care. Hmm. I can't recall the last time I was so thankful for the essential avarice of the human condition. Alfredo: You're happy about this? Holmes: Milverton's plan has backfired. His fail-safe has shirked the duties for which he was hired. Which means, that for the moment, the secrets of Milverton's blackmail targets are safe. Abraham Zelner, as it turns out, was a pseudonym, but I still think that the fat man represented by Duke Landers is Milverton's accomplice. Watson: You're gonna open up Lander's files again. Holmes: Only lead we have at the moment, so, yes. But not before tea. It's gonna be a long night. Thank you, Alfredo. You've been most helpful. Alfredo: Hey. Want to, uh, check in with you about tomorrow before I go. We're going to a meeting. You're getting your chip. Holmes: Yeah. About that. Um, tomorrow's not really good for me. Alfredo: Well, you're working, I get it. But your day is your day, man. I promise, it'll only take a few minutes. Holmes: Look, Alfredo it's not the case, it's the chip. I can't accept it. I know that to most addicts it's a treasured token. It's a very tangible representation of the their hard work and determination, but I'm not most addicts. To me it does not commemorate a period of success, but rather, the end of a period of great failure. I failed when I abused drugs and I would really rather not be reminded of that fact. Alfredo: I'm sorry if that's how you see it. You know what I wish you got? Milestones like this one they're yours, but they're not about you. They're about all the people who haven't got there yet. They see you do it, and they think why can't I? You know, I know it's hard, but one of these days, you got to get over yourself. Holmes: I believe I've uncovered the real identity of Henry Eight. It all starts with the corpulent Abraham Zelner. It was an assumed identity used for the expressed purpose of an obesity discrimination lawsuit. When the airline that Zelner sued made its first lowball offer of settlement, he accepted. Probably because he knew that his false identity would not stand up to scrutiny. This started me thinking. What if he'd done it before? Watson: So, you think he sued other airlines? Holmes: Airlines, theaters, restaurants. To the professional fat man, these businesses are a veritable deep-fried buffet of nuisance lawsuits. Each one with a lucrative stream of income. I dove into the records of similar lawsuits filed on the East Coast and focused only on those that resulted in quick "go away" payoffs. Do you notice anything unusual about the names of these plaintiffs? Watson: Abraham Zelner, Brad Yates, Cory Xavier, Declan Winchell... Holmes: The initials A. Zed, B.Y., C.X., D.W. They represent a pattern. Watson: First name starts with an "A" and moves forward, the last names starts with "Z" and moves backward. Holmes: I believe they were all assumed by one man, the same man that Charles Milverton refers to in his ledger as Henry Eight. Watson: That's great, but it still doesn't tell us the real name. Holmes: Nope. But it did help me find photographs of the plaintiffs in two of the nuisance suits. One appeared in a Queen's newspaper regarding the complaint of an Ethan Varner against a tanning salon whose beds could not accommodate his prodigious girth. Four years ago, the rotund Stuart Bloom sued a cineplex in Dover, Delaware for excessively small seats. He received a $50,000 payoff. Watson: It's the same man. Stuart Bloom does not match the pattern. Holmes: Does not. Because I believe it was his first lawsuit. Watson: You think that's his real name? Holmes: Abraham Zelner may not have a DMV record, but Stuart Bloom most certainly does. He lives in Staten Island. Holmes: Mr. Bloom. Watson: It's so dark in here. What is it? Holmes: It's car litter. I don't think this was put down for cats. I think it was put down to absorb odors. Holmes: Captain Gregson, meet Stuart Bloom, aka Henry Eight, aka Charles Milverton's accomplice. Gregson: Looks like he's been here about a week. Holmes: Note the bruise pattern on his chest. Gregson: Is that a boot print? Holmes: Obviously the killer caught him unaware as he drove his head beneath the water. The body was too immense to remove, so rather than dismember him, Milverton left behind a decade's worth of cat litter to cover the stench of his decomposition. Gregson: Wait a minute, you think Milverton did this? Why not Anthony Pistone? He killed Milverton. He would've had motive to kill Bloom, too, no? Watson: The bruise on Bloom's chest suggests a shoe size between a six and an eight. Holmes: Milverton was a seven. Mr. Pistone a 12. Also the cat litter spread about all over the place. It's the same one that Milverton has in his home. I recognize the scent quite vividly. Watson: We think if you run the credit cards, you'll find that he purchased an unusually large amount of the stuff a couple weeks ago. Gregson: Any idea why Milverton would kill his partner in crime? Watson: Bloom wanted a raise? Holmes: I think the more pressing question, in my humble opinion, is this, if Mr. Bloom hasn't taken over the blackmailing business, then who has? Watson: Well, this is a surprise. I would've thought you would've covered this wall with evidence by now. Holmes: I did. I took it down. Put it back up again. Took it down again. Watson: Not helpful, I take it. Holmes: I've been through it all. So have you. I need new data to move forward. Watson: I will take another look at it before I go to bed. Holmes: You were right about the sobriety chips that I ordered. I was trying to get a rise. I was trying to spark a conversation. I told Alfredo that I, I could not accept my one-year chip 'cause it would conjure memories of a period of failure in my life. That's not true. I cannot accept my one-year chip on my one-year anniversary because it's not my anniversary. Watson: Are you saying you relapsed? Holmes: Mmm. It was a while ago. It was before I met you. The day after I agreed to enter into rehab, as a matter of fact. I had realized that my father was right. I needed to repair myself. So I disposed of my drugs and destroyed my paraphernalia. The next day I entered Hemdale. The day after that I got sick. And, uh, yeah, very sick. So I devised a way to leave without being detected. I got what I needed returned. Yeah. And that was the last time I took drugs. Not the day before. Watson: Sherlock, I understand why you're upset, but we're talking about the difference of one day. It does not change what you did in the 364 that followed. Holmes: I decided to stop using drugs, yes? I decided, me. And then 24 hours later...it sounds like a mere detail but I'm a man of details. And, and it, it matters to me. Now, I know that I need to tell Alfredo, but it's, uh, proving difficult. Watson: And it just didn't seem right to tell him before you. Holmes: Ah. Watson: What is it? Holmes: Charles Milverton's autopsy report, which I would happily consider new data were it not for the fact that I was there when he was gunned down. Watson: Hmm. Holmes: What? Watson: Uh, when you said that Anthony Pistone stomped on Milverton's face, I assumed it was all over, but according to this, there's just damage to one side. Holmes: They're gone. Watson: What are? Holmes: His scars. There was patches of them here. Very distinctive. Almost as though Pistone has targeted them. Holmes: Mr. Pistone, such a pleasure to see you again. I was so glad to hear that you made bail this morning. Pistone: Thanks. My attorney said you had some more questions for me before I go home. Gregson: Yeah. Remind us, when did you first identify Charles Milverton as your blackmailer? Pistone: A few nights ago, like I told you. Holmes: We now have reason to believe that you actually crossed paths before that. Watson: Charles Milverton was savagely beaten four months ago. He had to go to an ER. He said he was mugged, which is why the responding detectives took photographs, but we think he lied. Holmes: He gave varying descriptions of his mugger to the police. The doctor who treated him chalked that up to concussion, but we think it was more than that. We think that he couldn't tell the real story. Watson: Which was that you found him and beat him until he surprised you with an offer that you could not refuse, a piece of his blackmailing business. Holmes: See these gashes, left temple? Now these wounds bear a striking resemblance to the emblem on your ring. Milverton was left with these scars. You knew this. So when the police closed in on you two nights ago, you trampled his face in a effort to obscure them. Pistone: You want to guess how many of these are out there? Holmes: Mmm. It's interesting that you failed to mention the other night that Karen is not your daughter, but your stepdaughter. Gregson: According to your neighbors, you two fight a lot. Holmes: You found Milverton months ago. You intended to punish him, but he offered you a piece of his operation in exchange for his life. You needed the money. You took him up on his offer. Watson: Charles now had two partners, his fail-safe Stuart Bloom and you. Someone had to go. Holmes: Milverton murdered Bloom. Maybe you put him up to it, maybe he did it of his own volition. Either way, I suspect a fifty-fifty split wasn't enough for you. Attorney: These are theories, Captain. You're gonna need proof. Gregson: I agree. Which is why we conducted a thorough search of your client's business and home this morning. We found this laptop at his office. Holmes: It's Milverton's. Gregson: You told me you smashed it. Threw it in a dumpster. Holmes: Funny thing is we didn't find it in your desk, but in your brother's. He's already confessed to being your partner, the Stuart Bloom to your Charles Milverton. Watson: He was the one who sent Ken Whitman the new demand for money when you were in police custody the other day. Holmes: So it looks like you'll be spending a few more decades in prison than you thought. Alfredo: Hey. Change your mind? Holmes: I have not. Alfredo: What are you doing here? You okay? Holmes: There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Watson: Hey. I didn't hear you come in. Holmes: You know me, stealthy as a shadow. Watson: How'd it go with Alfredo? Holmes: Liberating. As you predicted. I'm lucky to have him. Watson: Look at the time. Happy real anniversary. Holmes: Regardless of the actual start date of my sobriety, I still have no interest in public celebrations, speeches, encouragements or the bestowing of chips. Watson: I know. I saw this in a secondhand store. It's dark. It's not just for anyone, but I thought it was very you. I just wanted to let you know that I was thinking of you. Category:Transcripts